If Britain were not fooloishly throwing itself out of the European Union, we would not need to depend so much on the dying American empire with all its violence and greed - above all - its pig of a President.

Sunday, 26 November 2017

Many readers would remember Charles Jones timber merchants at Foryd Harbour. In days of yore the harbour was a hive of activity. According to the postcard / business card below, the Charles Jones company was established in 1870. (It closed down in 1988.)

"From SHIP to RAIL"This would refer to nearby Foryd Railway Station aka Kinmel Bay Halt about which you can read on Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foryd_railway_station"RHYL HARBOUR"This was a name in common use for Foryd Harbour even though most of it is in Kinmel Bay. Foryd is an old name for Kinmel Bay.This part of the card's text is repeated here for indexing purposes:

Last Sunday I said that in the late 1950s this entertainer topped the bill at a Sunday concert in Rhyl Pavilion. The question: What is her name?

The answer: Jill Day.
She was Brighton-born, mainly a singer, tried her hand at acting. She was popular on TV before most of us had a TV. As a song stylist she was knocked out of the game by the advent of rock 'n' roll. She died in 1990.

The photo is from Bill Ellis who says her Sunday concert in Rhyl Pavilion was in 1958. This information helped me to date the following, one of my own pix in which Jill Day poster is centre left.

Wow, the roller skating rink looks busy!

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Also I said that in the early 1970s the entertainer below topped the bill at a Sunday concert in Rhyl Pavilion. The question: What is his name?

The answer: Jimmy Tarbuck.

Like other Liverpool comedians, JT played Rhyl more than once. The Sunday concert in question was 1971.

Below: A recent picture of yer man with his wife Pauline after they had been married for 50 years.

Sunday, 19 November 2017

The old toll bridge that preceded the present Foryd Bridge is always an item of interest. The image below tells us little or nothing about the bridge but it has a certain charm. Views from downriver looking northwards to the harbour are quite rare.

The image has been re-shaped slightly Yours Truly. It is from a card postmarked 1916. Printed on the back of the card is a copyright notice byA. Netherwood, Conway. Arthur Netherwood
was an English artist who travelled in Wales. He died in 1930.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Well boys, we men seem to be boxed into a corner: no longer able to take
hold of children and – thanks to predatory film producers and the like – no
longer able to take hold of women either. We’ll have to learn to hug each
other.A long way from the dark side is this depiction of
a young lady landing in Rhyl and being pursued by interested parties while
a policeman looks on. Women would send this kind of card to each other.

This is postmarked 1903. It is intended to be humorous and I hope most sincerely that it offends nobody.

I note with glee that Scottish Government has overcome legal objections and is to impose a minimum price per unit of alcohol. Welsh Government is poised to follow suit.
The alcoholic drinks industry is pernicious; more action is needed against it. Imagine how much less our social services, NHS and policing would cost if alcohol consumption in general were cut back drastically.
The Chief Medical Officer for Wales and Chief Constable of North Wales Police are both on record as supporting the idea of a minimum price per unit of alcohol, so it's time for everybody - including drinkers of the stuff - to realise that it has been dangerously cheap for too long.

Sunday, 12 November 2017

In October last year I mentioned an A5-size booklet of
fourteen arty black-and-white photos by Stephen Clarke titled 'Ocean Beach
Rhyl' (published 2014) in a limited edition of 150.

Recently a companion volume turned up – the covers are shown above. ‘Rhyl
Seafront’ (published 2015) is in same format and this too is limited edition of 150. Its fifteen images show parts of West Parade and the promenade.

Cover shot of Gaiety Theatre would be 1980s (it was
demolished 1991). Presumably the other pictures are from the ‘80s as well. The
text gives no clue as to the date or any other information because there is no
text.

Clwyd Cream Ices' kiosk is featured and so is the
Information Centre in a unit on the prom before it moved to Children’s Village. Also we have the arcades Stardust, Mint and Ronald Seldon's Sands;and Bumper Boats. The booklet is a time capsule.

Criminals continue to make a bee-line for Rhyl because they have family/ friends/associates here, and they know the town is an easy place to get drugs, and policing is weak.
As far as I can see, little or nothing is being done to deter these people from coming. On the contrary they are welcomed by publicly-funded support projects including housing services.
Your taxes, dear readers, are being used to help Rhyl gain and keep a bad reputation.

These amateur snaphots from the early 1930s relate to AA Box. No. 263 named ‘Rhuddlan Cross-Roads’. The
telephone number was Rhuddlan 235. At the crossroads it was on the B.
5532 (now A5151 to Bodrhyddan Hall, Dyserth and Trelawnyd.)

Whenever passing I see the ghost of the AA Box in Rhuddlan
and the one at Trefnant, Doctor.

October 2017 was a classic month for quotes about Republican President Donald Trump:

Republican Senator Jeff Flake said,“We must never meekly accept the daily sundering of our country - the personal attacks, the threats against principles, freedoms, and institutions, the flagrant disregard for truth or decency, the reckless provocations.”

Republican Senator Bob Corker said,"At the end of the day, when his term is over, I think the debasing of our nation, the constant non-truth telling, just the name-calling ... I think the debasement of our nation will be what he'll be remembered most for, and that's regretful."

American Professor of Economics Jeffrey Sachs said,"I believe that at an individual level he is profoundly psychologically ill. He is a malignant narcissist and a sociopath."

Not much to argue with there.

--

MON 30 OCT 2017 – Ex-Trump election campaign adviser George Papadopoulos
has admitting lying to the FBI about connections between individuals associated
with the campaign and the Russian government's efforts to interfere with the
2016 presidential election.

MON 30 OCT 2017 AGAIN – Ex-Trump election campaign adviser
Paul Manafort & his business associate Richard ‘Rick’ Gates, have been charged on
12 counts, including conspiracy against United States, making false statements and
conspiracy to launder money.

Saturday, 28 October 2017

These recent acquisitions are postcards bearing bottom right the printed signature of Rhyl photographer Rae Pickard and the date 1912. On the back they carry the following message: "BROMESQUE" REAL PHOTOGRAPH by RAE PICKARD, RHYL. PRINTED IN RHYL.The cards bear no further details. Mr. Pickard ranged far and wide in North Wales, so there is no guarantee that this production of 'Cinderella' was actually staged in Rhyl. Nevertheless I suspect we are looking at girls from our St. Mary's Convent School in Russell Road which was up and running by then.Kinmel Bay-based cartoonist/singer/comedian Roy Lance clocked up a few pantos in his time, such as this one:

Roy is on your right as Simple Simon with Trevor Moreton as Dame in 'Jack and the Beanstalk' 1968-69 at Swansea Grand Theatre. Jack was played by pop
singer Wayne Fontana; the cast included The Harmon Brothers (later known as
The Chuckle Brothers).

If I have identified the wrong production I will go and
stand in the corner.

--

This year at Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl, we have 'Sleeping Beauty':

Pavilion Theatre says, "The cast is headed by Vicky
Entwistle, perhaps best known as Coronation Streeet’s Janice Batterby who plays
the Bad Fairy Cararabosse. She is joined by Channel 5’s Milkshake presenter,
Amy Thompson as Sleeping Beauty, Princess Briar Rose, and Hollyoaks’ Kathy
Barnes, Sarah Jane Buckley, as the Good Fairy.

"The Queen of pantomime dames, Charles
Burden, plays Nanny Glucose, and back by popular demand is Wales’ very own Sean
Jones as Silly Billy who returns for his 6th consecutive pantomime at the
Pavilion.

"There is a full supporting cast which
includes two local talented dance schools, The Gay Harris Dancers and The North
Wales School of Dance. Sleeping Beauty runs from Wednesday 13th
December to Saturday 6th January, tickets are priced from just £9.50."

Incidentally, recent works by Denbighshire County Council at the Pavilion Theatre include the creation of a new restaurant area which has been given the name ‘1891’
because somebody thinks that’s when the Pavilion first opened. There are faults in this reasoning.

The present Pavilion Theatre which
opened in 1991 could be described as a belated replacement for the
famous domed Rhyl Pavilion (demolished 1974, opened 1908) but there is no
connection that I know of between those two council-owned venues and the Grand
Pavilion (destroyed by fire 1901, opened 1891).

The Grand Pavilion, about which I published a book in 2002, was a concert hall
built at the shore end of our Victoria Pier by a private company
which owned the pier at that particular time. It was not the start of a Pavilion dynasty so ‘1891’ is not an appropriate name for the
restaurant.If the link between the three disparate venues is simply the word Pavilion, then the restaurant might as well be named '1867' which was the date that the Bijou Pavilion opened halfway along the pier. Does all this matter? Well, there is already enough misinformation about Rhyl history out there without Denbighshire Council adding to it.--

Wednesday, 25 October 2017

A message has arrived here at Jones Towers from Jan Gammie who says:I am working as the researcher on a book being written by an old colleague of mine, Dafydd Rees, about The Beatles in 1963. We worked together in the press office at Decca back in the day, and have kept in touch over the years. He has been writing music books for over 40 years (if you google "dafydd rees author" you should find some previous publications on his Amazon page).The latest project (well, I say "latest", but we have been on it for 5 years now!) is "1963 - A Year In The Life Of The Beatles". It essentially covers each day of that pivotal year, with a short narrative from the group's perspective, accompanied by a memoir from someone who encountered them in some way.We have stories from musicians who played on the same bill, fans who saw them in concert, waitresses who served them in restaurants, and try though I may, I just haven't been able to find someone to share a memoir from when they appeared at The Ritz Ballroom in Rhyl on the 19th/20th July of that year. I wonder if you know anyone who saw them on either of these two dates, and who would be happy to share their memories of the evening, and growing up in Rhyl in the early '60s - was there much to do for young people/local music shops/coffee bars, etc. Over to you, dear readers. Did you see The Beatles at The Ritz? If so, send an email to me in the first instance and I will forward it to Jan.--Colin Jones / colin.jones.rhyl@live.co.uk
--

Sunday, 22 October 2017

As Labour enjoys popularity and the Conservatives
descend into disarray yet again over Europe, Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales - holds its own very well as a pressure group within the Welsh Assembly. Its four MPs and MEP are hard at
work too.

Last Friday at the party's annual conference, at Galeri in Caernarfon (pictured above), Plaid's leader Leanne Wood expressed support for Catalonian independence and condemned the violence by Spanish
state police that shocked us all in television news reports.

Plaid’s position on Brexit is same as Labour’s. Both parties
believe that leaving the European Union is a bad idea but they are going along
with it anyway as long as leaving the EU (a political institution) does not
mean having to leave the single market and customs union as well.

Hmmmm.

Plaid wishes to see the establishing of a Welsh Government
fund to help businesses across any transition period, and an end to the
scapegoating of migrants who came to UK lawfully and in good faith and
have contributed a lot to strengthening the economy.

Leanne moved on to talk about the need to expand rail
transport within Wales (including electrification of the North Wales Coast line) and about
Education being the route out of poverty, and Community Action being an
antidote to deprivation and budget cuts.

The speech touched on other issues but avoided controversies
within the party such as arguments for and against legalising drugs, and for or
against banning the sale of council & housing association properties.

Certain elements within Plaid would prefer to have a new leader before the next National Assembly for Wales election in 2021. Why they feel that way is a mystery; they are anonymous and therefore cannot be questioned about the matter.

Last Sunday I said that in late 1940s this family appeared in a one-off Sunday show at Queens Theatre, Rhyl. The little girl became a big international star. The question: What is her name?The answer: Julie Andrews.
Pictured above with Julie are mother Barbara and stepfather Ted Andrews. They were at the Queens on July 25th 1948 when Julie was 12 years old.

Interesting to note that on this kind of engagement the biggest names did not necessarily appear on stage last. Position on the bill would suit their travelling arrangements.
If you never seen Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins (1964), The Sound Of Music (1965) or Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) do try to catch up!
Ms Andrews is 82 years of age and still working.

A request has flooded in from John W. Davies for additional Rhuddlan pix. As a Rhuddlan boy myself, Mr. Davies, I am only too delighted to present a few more images including Parliament House:

The image above dates from before World War 1. Exterior plaque says:

This Fragment

Is the Remains of the Building

Where King Edward the first

Held his Parliament

A.D. 1283

In which was passed the Statute of Rhuddlan

Securing

To the Principality of Wales

Its Judicial Rights

And Independence

The plaque has been renewed since then. The words remain the same but their layout is more straightforward.

Below: This Raphael Tuck postcard published in 1930 is captioned Bridge End, Rhuddlan, which makes me wonder what the other end of the bridge was called.

On the far side is Gittins' Garage and Marsh Hotel, Lower High Street which became Marsh Warden, Station Road (demolished in 2014).

--

Above: Nice example of an image created in a studio for use far and wide with the name of the location superimposed. Somebody must have thought Rhuddlan was a seaside resort. This is a card postmarked 1934.

Below: Hylas Lane, Rhuddlan, in late 1960s/early '70s. The white cottage on your right is Hylas Bach which may be associated with (or a downsized version of) Hylas-fawr which appears on old maps.

Round the corner on same side of road is Rhuddlan Primary School which opened in 1935, expanded to include infants in 1954 and changed name to Ysgol y Castell in 1972.

--

Above:Eisteddfod Genedlaethol = National Eisteddfod of Wales. The 1985 event is listed as having been in Rhyl.
This modest paperweight is a reminder that - not for first time - it was actually in Rhuddlan at The Showfield aka Brookes' Field, south of the Rhyl town boundary.Y Rhyl a'r Cyffiniau = Rhyl and surrounding area.

Below: Despite the black-and-white format, this image of The Parish Church of St. Mary, Rhuddlan, is probably less than 20 years old. The church was founded way back in the 13th century, i.e. 500-600 years before the town of Rhyl was invented.

Sunday, 15 October 2017

Here is a rare set of advertisements from a 1938 housing brochure, sent in by ex-Rhylite Robert Jones of Dyserth.
Thanks, Robert!Click on any part to see a bigger version.

In the above the "five up-to-date Picture Houses" would be Plaza, Regal and Odeon - all built in the 1930s in High Street - and the older Cinema Royal also in High Street but this had probably closed down by the time the brochure was circulated; the fifth would be Queens Theatre which showed cinema films off-season.

Click on any part to see a bigger version.

This last one is a reminder that Rhyl Urban District Council ran the gas supply and other utilities before World War 2.Price guide: £1,000 in 1938 would be about £60,000 in today's money. Not much for a new house!

Above: In the late 1940s this family appeared in a one-off Sunday show at Queens Theatre, Rhyl. The little girl became a big international star.The question: What is her name?Below: In the late 1950s this popular singer topped the bill in a Sunday show at the Queens.The question: What is her name?

No need to send me an email - just check your answers against mine on Sunday 22nd October 2017 after 12 noon.